As a non-newbie, but a general non-alter, I tried once a few months ago to create an alt. I was gonna give Gaudiguch a shot, since Esca is well and truly entombed in Magnagora for the rest of time. I gave up halfway through the tutorial because it seemed really tedious to me. Is there even an opt-out option? If so I would love to try again and skip it. Gnomes and finks don't really hold much interest to me since they're kind of removed from most of what Lusternia is about.
I'm really sorry to say I didn't like it much... It's almost aggressive in its hand-holding, and didn't feel like it was really preparing me for the actual game. These games endure because of the detail, choice, customization, and roleplaying they allow and encourage, and the intro lacks all of these things. What's a prospective newbie to think when they're met with so little of those very qualities they're probably seeking out?
It boiled down to 'go exactly where I tell you and type or click the things I tell you' until eventually you're spat out into the 'real' world, having spent a solid chunk of time learning how to spell 'greet', 'kill', and 'chanterelle' rather than the key commands and concepts of the game.
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EveriineWise Old Swordsbird / BrontaurIndianapolis, IN, USA
I'm really sorry to say I didn't like it much... It's almost aggressive in its hand-holding, and didn't feel like it was really preparing me for the actual game. These games endure because of the detail, choice, customization, and roleplaying they allow and encourage, and the intro lacks all of these things. What's a prospective newbie to think when they're met with so little of those very qualities they're probably seeking out?
It boiled down to 'go exactly where I tell you and type or click the things I tell you' until eventually you're spat out into the 'real' world, having spent a solid chunk of time learning how to spell 'greet', 'kill', and 'chanterelle' rather than the key commands and concepts of the game.
Don't feel bad about not liking it. As you can see, most of those who voted voted No or Don't Care. Even some of us who voted a version of Yes had to qualify it (I like the Newton Caverns part, which is what I thought the question was about, but hate the rest). Unfortunately, it will likely never change, because Reasons.
Everiine is a man, and is very manly. This MAN before you is so manly you might as well just gender bend right now, cause he's the manliest man that you ever did see. His manly shape has spurned many women and girlyer men to boughs of fainting. He stands before you in a manly manerific typical man-like outfit which is covered in his manly motto: "I am a man!"
Daraius said: You gotta risk it for the biscuit.
Pony power all the way, yo. The more Brontaurs the better.
You know what? IRE admin meet this weekend. "Hey, IRE honchos, wtf is up with the intros? THEY SUCK GIANT DONKEY WANG. HERE, ALLOW ME TO PRESENT TO YOU THESE THREE (probably printed up it'll be like 6) PAGES OF PEOPLE SAYING EXACTLY WHY IT'S TERRIBLE, AND IDEAS HOW TO FIX IT. IF YOU'RE UNABLE TO DO SO, WELL, HERE'S A BOOT FULL OF WATER WITH INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW TO EMPTY IT PRINTED ON THE BOTTOM. GO NUTS."
I mean, seriously. It's almost worth organizing an email campaign to the IRE honchos (not Estarra, J-something, whatever his face is, can't be bothered to look it up since they can't be bothered to hear feedback via forums) to inform them just how horrendously terrible the introductions have gotten.
It's been too long so I can't recall the specifics, but I do remember getting actually angry at how bad the intro is now when I watched someone make a new character last year.
We used to get an END JOURNEY command which skipped us through. Now it's painful. More so for anyone needing to do it more than once. (Alters/newbies wanting to try out several orgs).
I think my main problem was that, after the introduction ended you actually were in no way prepared for what was waiting for you. The collegium sadly did only confuse more then enlighten us and I would likely have skipped the game if not some very helpful players (You know who you are, thank you! ) had chimed in and explained stuff to me.
Something I found particularly annoying was that nowhere in that intro you get shown that there are hidden room items and hidden exits AND that npcs respond commonly to words you say and nearly never to greet. That was very sad :-/
Still voted somewhat yes, as the experience was enjoyable for someone coming from a very different mud system and slow enough to learn the ropes. But after the intro I was left with a huge gap and a 'now what'. But Lusternia's community fixed that for me.
Avatar / Picture done by the lovely Gurashi.
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EveriineWise Old Swordsbird / BrontaurIndianapolis, IN, USA
I think my main problem was that, after the introduction ended you actually were in no way prepared for what was waiting for you. The collegium sadly did only confuse more then enlighten us and I would likely have skipped the game if not some very helpful players (You know who you are, thank you! ) had chimed in and explained stuff to me.
Something I found particularly annoying was that nowhere in that intro you get shown that there are hidden room items and hidden exits AND that npcs respond commonly to words you say and nearly never to greet. That was very sad :-/
Still voted somewhat yes, as the experience was enjoyable for someone coming from a very different mud system and slow enough to learn the ropes. But after the intro I was left with a huge gap and a 'now what'. But Lusternia's community fixed that for me.
There was always a gap between the end of the intro where players had to step in and get you the rest of the way to actually understanding. The difference was, we used to have a blank slate to work with. Now we have a jumbled confused mess that we have to try and get newbies through,which just makes it harder.
Everiine is a man, and is very manly. This MAN before you is so manly you might as well just gender bend right now, cause he's the manliest man that you ever did see. His manly shape has spurned many women and girlyer men to boughs of fainting. He stands before you in a manly manerific typical man-like outfit which is covered in his manly motto: "I am a man!"
Daraius said: You gotta risk it for the biscuit.
Pony power all the way, yo. The more Brontaurs the better.
I'm not sure that this is even something that is being looked at now since this is well past the initial few weeks of the poll, but as an actual new player to this game this was one of the most awful experiences I have ever had with a MUD.
I didn't expect to learn anything new about this type of game since I have extensive experience (over 20 years if Infocom games count, ~15 if we're only counting MUDs), but I did expect that maybe it would give me a sense of the world, possibly some RP specific guidelines for this particular game (like, maybe more info on my race/guild), and oh, I don't know, not DO the entire tutorial for me and then throw me out into the middle of nowhere with no idea where I am or what exactly to do and just a crapton of help files to read and a newbie channel I'm not particularly comfortable using.
I'm the sort of person who learns best by self-teaching, so asking for help doesn't really work for me as none of it sticks - very in one ear out the other. The help files are awful, partially because I use a plasma TV for a monitor and while I can increase the game's font size, it does not appear to increase the help window pop up text size (awesome!).
The quest command is useless, it doesn't really help at all or even give a decent recap of the quest or your progress, it should be where you look for hints on the quests instead of the annoying help text that doesn't actually help at all and instead basically does the quest for you.
I still do not know anything about my guild, which is fine I guess, I was hoping to find some things on the forums but have so far gotten distracted with writing this. I do know that the intro quest apparently gives you the wrong kind of weapon, so that's awesome, gimped immediately unless you know that it's the wrong thing to use.
Oh, also, new players probably shouldn't be able to easily wander into creatures that cause stupidity with no idea of how to get rid of it. I logged out yesterday after about 20 minutes of running around with it because it was so ridiculously frustrating. Does it ever wear off? I was told how to get rid of it after I angrily quit, and I assume my character is still afflicted.
Overall this first experience was atrocious, and the only reason I'm even still around is because my lover, who is much more patient than I am, has been attempting to get me to play it for the past few days. >:( Fumbling. Angrily. Through. This. Crap.
4
EveriineWise Old Swordsbird / BrontaurIndianapolis, IN, USA
Please, ask for help when you return! You should be able to find someone who will give you the cure, and then help you learn all about your guild, city, and the amazingly deep lore that does exist here. Once you get past the train-wreck of an intro, I promise the game opens up in so many wondrous ways.
Everiine is a man, and is very manly. This MAN before you is so manly you might as well just gender bend right now, cause he's the manliest man that you ever did see. His manly shape has spurned many women and girlyer men to boughs of fainting. He stands before you in a manly manerific typical man-like outfit which is covered in his manly motto: "I am a man!"
Daraius said: You gotta risk it for the biscuit.
Pony power all the way, yo. The more Brontaurs the better.
I sincerely hope your concerns are addressed, or at least acknowledged, @Orvilek. In either case, don't hesitate to ask about afflictions, guild backstory, any of that stuff on CGT. It's preferable to NEWBIE in your case because 1) it's only heard by members of your org, so less stranger danger, and 2) newbie is more 'look at this help file, do this thing, then do this other thing goodbye' rather than someone setting aside the time to help you help yourself. Also, it's in-character.
Also, don't be discouraged! While some don't like to admit, Lusternia has a steep learning curve - there's a lot of stuff, and while most of it doesn't mean a thing to you initially, you are kind of pushed into taking on too much at once. That's what kept me from sticking through two or three years of 'roll character, get confused, qq'. Hopefully things smooth out for you a bit, we could use some new faces.
Crumkane, Lord of Epicurean Delights says, "WAS IT INDEED ON FIRE, ERITHEYL."
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With a deep reverb, Contemptible Sutekh says, "CEASE YOUR INFERNAL ENERGY, ERITHEYL."
I'm not sure that this is even something that is being looked at now since this is well past the initial few weeks of the poll, but as an actual new player to this game this was one of the most awful experiences I have ever had with a MUD.
I didn't expect to learn anything new about this type of game since I have extensive experience (over 20 years if Infocom games count, ~15 if we're only counting MUDs), but I did expect that maybe it would give me a sense of the world, possibly some RP specific guidelines for this particular game (like, maybe more info on my race/guild), and oh, I don't know, not DO the entire tutorial for me and then throw me out into the middle of nowhere with no idea where I am or what exactly to do and just a crapton of help files to read and a newbie channel I'm not particularly comfortable using.
I'm the sort of person who learns best by self-teaching, so asking for help doesn't really work for me as none of it sticks - very in one ear out the other. The help files are awful, partially because I use a plasma TV for a monitor and while I can increase the game's font size, it does not appear to increase the help window pop up text size (awesome!).
The quest command is useless, it doesn't really help at all or even give a decent recap of the quest or your progress, it should be where you look for hints on the quests instead of the annoying help text that doesn't actually help at all and instead basically does the quest for you.
I still do not know anything about my guild, which is fine I guess, I was hoping to find some things on the forums but have so far gotten distracted with writing this. I do know that the intro quest apparently gives you the wrong kind of weapon, so that's awesome, gimped immediately unless you know that it's the wrong thing to use.
Oh, also, new players probably shouldn't be able to easily wander into creatures that cause stupidity with no idea of how to get rid of it. I logged out yesterday after about 20 minutes of running around with it because it was so ridiculously frustrating. Does it ever wear off? I was told how to get rid of it after I angrily quit, and I assume my character is still afflicted.
Overall this first experience was atrocious, and the only reason I'm even still around is because my lover, who is much more patient than I am, has been attempting to get me to play it for the past few days. >:( Fumbling. Angrily. Through. This. Crap.
Stupidity is probably one of the worst afflictions to have, next to Aeon, and only one of those lasts for an extremely long time >> I'm sorry you had such a bad experience, I myself had to force myself through the tutorial because I knew actually interacting with others would make up for it, and it did... But Questing is still as annoying as the tutorial is, imo The only honors likes I have are basic ones (Gloms epic quest, Tosha Monastery which was actually a fun one, doing some boring quest involving candy, etc) So you may just not like questing in general, but that's fine! No one really judges you on how many quests you do.
I would ask on newbie if someone can help you cure stupidity. You'll have to enter things multiple times since stupidity is... Well, stupid like that, but someone will definitely come and help you out. This community is cool like that coughcough @Shaddus
Hope you stick around!
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EveriineWise Old Swordsbird / BrontaurIndianapolis, IN, USA
This community is cool like that coughcough @Shaddus
Hope you stick around!
Pro-tip: It is likely that everyone you meet is really Shaddus in disguise. I'm not certain I'm NOT Shaddus.
Everiine is a man, and is very manly. This MAN before you is so manly you might as well just gender bend right now, cause he's the manliest man that you ever did see. His manly shape has spurned many women and girlyer men to boughs of fainting. He stands before you in a manly manerific typical man-like outfit which is covered in his manly motto: "I am a man!"
Daraius said: You gotta risk it for the biscuit.
Pony power all the way, yo. The more Brontaurs the better.
I'm going to have my wife, who has never played a mud, nor a text based game in general, record and upload her way from start to finish through the intro. Without assistance from me. Be fun to see how it goes.
Everiine said: The reason population is low isn't because there are too many orgs. It's because so many facets of the game are outright broken and protected by those who benefit from it being that way. An overabundance of gimmicks (including game-breaking ones), artifacts that destroy any concept of balance, blatant pay-to-win features, and an obsession with convenience that makes few things actually worthwhile all contribute to the game's sad decline.
You do a little bit, then you're free to explore, then you do a little bit more. Like... "technically" the intro goes for a decent while but it doesn't really feel like it because once you've learned the basics (moving, sipping, attacking) they just kinda dump you into the world with tasks that form the rest of the intro.
I suppose another thing, all Iron Realms are heavily dependent on player interaction. The game itself only teaches us so much, how to use your skills, which ones to learn, what's best for levelling up, the lore of your org, these are all things that get passed through players (sure there's an event but once that moment has passed the players are the ones that take it and pass it down).
There seems to just always be an issue in that transition, where moving players from the intro to the real game (where you rely on players) can easily be disconnected. (quiet times, players that don't really respond to newbies, etc).
Hello! So I'm new to Lust but a loooooooooong time player on another IRE game so this is still a bit new to me and I'm getting used to things. I personally really enjoyed the Newton area and it helped me gain some levels rather quickly. As for the intro, it was fine but when I was done I was kinda left with a 'what now' mentality. As a side note, the city and guild I've chosen are all really helpful, more so than I feel I would get in the game I'm used to so it's def making me stick around. Thanks guys
We agree guys, don't worry. This is not being ignored. I can't get into what the plan actually is but I can assure you it's on our to-do list. Like all things though, it's waiting for the Overhaul to finish since it's taking up literaly all our coding resources right now.
PS. I've had at least a dozen of my students go through the intro. As mud-virgins and people who didn't care for RP/story at the beginning, they found it okay and liked that they didn't constantly have to write things (lmao). They enjoyed the hand-holding since everything, from how to move, through npcs, and on the concept of a room ending, was new to them. Ultimately, however, they didn't know what to do later.
So essentially, the intro is good as an introduction to MUDs, but not so much as an intro to Lusternia. I wonder if there's a way to address that? I recently ran through it myself for a secret alt, but honestly pretending to be a newbie and getting used to having a GUI were more engaging to me than the intro itself.
Comments
I'm really sorry to say I didn't like it much... It's almost aggressive in its hand-holding, and didn't feel like it was really preparing me for the actual game. These games endure because of the detail, choice, customization, and roleplaying they allow and encourage, and the intro lacks all of these things. What's a prospective newbie to think when they're met with so little of those very qualities they're probably seeking out?
It boiled down to 'go exactly where I tell you and type or click the things I tell you' until eventually you're spat out into the 'real' world, having spent a solid chunk of time learning how to spell 'greet', 'kill', and 'chanterelle' rather than the key commands and concepts of the game.
Something I found particularly annoying was that nowhere in that intro you get shown that there are hidden room items and hidden exits AND that npcs respond commonly to words you say and nearly never to greet. That was very sad :-/
Still voted somewhat yes, as the experience was enjoyable for someone coming from a very different mud system and slow enough to learn the ropes. But after the intro I was left with a huge gap and a 'now what'. But Lusternia's community fixed that for me.
Also, don't be discouraged! While some don't like to admit, Lusternia has a steep learning curve - there's a lot of stuff, and while most of it doesn't mean a thing to you initially, you are kind of pushed into taking on too much at once. That's what kept me from sticking through two or three years of 'roll character, get confused, qq'. Hopefully things smooth out for you a bit, we could use some new faces.
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Pro-tip: It is likely that everyone you meet is really Shaddus in disguise. I'm not certain I'm NOT Shaddus.
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Just the intro? My guess will be a deep sense of 'okaaay... what was that and what do I do now?' until someone offers to help her get started.